Soft, chewy, fudgy chocolate cookies topped with frosting and—because why not?—sprinkles, these chocolate frosted cookies are extra rich and not at all sorry about it. It’s a simple drop cookie recipe, no rolling pin required, and the creamy chocolate frosting is a scaled down version of fan-favorite chocolate buttercream.
Here at Sally’s Baking HQ, we like our chocolate topped with more chocolate. (Well, and also we like it with peanut butter!!!)
Today’s cookie recipe is like a rich chocolate version of a Lofthouse-style soft frosted cookie, but with a little more chew—not quite as cakey. My team and I absolutely LOVED these, and can’t wait for all our fellow chocolate lovers to try them.
Chocolate Frosted Cookies Recipe Snapshot
- Taste: Similar to these chewy fudgy frosted brownies, you’re getting a double dose of chocolate with these cookies.
- Texture: Chewy and fudgy in the center like a brownie, soft and topped with buttercream frosting like a chocolate cupcake, with slightly crisp edges like a crinkle cookie. This is a chocolate dessert trifecta in one indulgent treat!
- Ease: Easy drop cookie dough that you roll into balls, bake, cool, and top with a simple buttercream. Forget all the bells and whistles, sometimes you just need to stick with what WORKS!
- Time: Dough chilling is mandatory for this chocolate cookie dough—2 hours minimum.
It’s all giving cosmic brownie…
The Softest, Fudgiest Chocolate Frosted Cookies
If you were to close your eyes and take a bite of one of these cookies, you’d be surprised to find a cookie instead of a frosted brownie in your hand. We can thank my favorite chocolate cookie dough for that, a go-to base I use when making double chocolate chip cookies and chocolate crinkle cookies, too. There’s a reason my team and I turn to this cookie dough often (and why so many readers love it as well)… it WORKS! The magical dough creates rich, thick, and chewy chocolate cookies that stay soft for days.
For today’s recipe, I made 2 small changes to the base dough. First, I replaced a bit of cocoa powder with flour. Because this cookie dough doesn’t have any add-ins (like chocolate chips or nuts) it benefits from some more flour for additional structure. But don’t worry! There’s still PLENTY of chocolate flavor, especially with the chocolate frosting on top.
I also replaced the milk in the dough with a bit of oil, to give them a moister, brownie-like texture. And because we aren’t rolling the dough balls in sugar, like we do with these Andes mint chocolate cookies, the oil helps them spread just enough.
You Need These Ingredients:
All basic baking ingredients. Unsweetened natural cocoa powder is ideal for the cookie dough, and you can read about why in this post on Dutch-process vs. natural cocoa powder.
You need an electric mixer for this recipe because the base is creamed butter + sugars. Expect a thick, sticky dough:
I’m a broken record again today repeating that you must chill this cookie dough for at least 2 hours (and up to 3 days). After the dough chills, it’s much easier to handle and roll into balls. Scoop 1 heaping Tablespoon of dough per cookie, about 28–30g each if you’re using a kitchen scale.
As they bake, the cookies puff up and spread out, then slightly deflate, forming those gorgeous cracks just like classic crinkle cookies. I don’t blame you one bit if you want to bite into one of these chocolate cookies while they’re still warm, but if you can manage to hold on for a little longer for them to cool, your patience will be rewarded with a frosted chocolate cookie worth waiting for.
The Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
For the frosting, you can use either Dutch-process cocoa powder OR natural cocoa powder.
My team and I tested these with a chocolate glaze-like topping—similar to what we use to top these chocolate frosted donuts—and it was delicious, but just didn’t strike the perfect balance with these chewy cookies. So, instead, we turned to my trusty recipe for chocolate buttercream (slightly scaled down), a top choice for cupcakes and cakes. It’s lighter, a tad sweeter, and ultra creamy.
And it is perfection on these cookies.
A Strange Chocolate Buttercream Success Tip (It Works!)
You can use either whole milk or heavy cream in the frosting, but regardless of which you choose, warm it up for a few seconds in the microwave or on the stove. Adding slightly warm liquid to this chocolate frosting helps the cocoa powder absorb more liquid and creates a smoother, more satiny finish.
However, after beating so much air into the buttercream during the mixing process, your chocolate buttercream can lighten up quite a bit in color. Of course this doesn’t change the flavor at all, but if you want it a little darker, I have a trick beyond using warm liquid:
Take 1/2 cup of the prepared buttercream (you can just eyeball the measurement), and place it in a heatproof bowl. Microwave it for 5 seconds. This loosens the mixture up and helps the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder combo absorb more of the liquid. Place that back into the big bowl of frosting and stir it in by hand. The frosting will be smoother with less air bubbles, and darker in color.
Spread the frosting on the cookies. I usually use an offset spatula. Top with festive rainbow or holiday sprinkles, then DIG IN.
Can I Make a Vanilla Version?
Yes. Try my sprinkle cookies supreme, or my soft cakey sugar cookies.
You can even try a chocolate peppermint version with these peppermint-frosted chocolate cookies. (Very similar dough, and it includes chocolate chips.)
Sally’s Cookie Palooza
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page including:
Chocolate Frosted Cookies
Prep Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes (includes chilling)
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours
Yield: 19-20 cookies
Category: Cookies
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American
Description
These chocolate frosted cookies are soft, chewy, and fudge-like. It’s a simple drop cookie recipe, no rolling pin required, and the creamy chocolate frosting is a scaled down version of fan-favorite chocolate buttercream. Chilling the cookie dough for 2 hours is imperative.
Cookies
Chocolate Frosting
Instructions
- Make the cookies: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until fluffy and light in color, about 2–3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and then beat on high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly pour into the wet ingredients. Beat on low speed until combined. The cookie dough will be thick and sticky. Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory for this sticky cookie dough.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. (If the cookie dough chilled longer than 3 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. This makes the chilled cookie dough easier to scoop and roll.) Scoop dough, 1 heaping Tablespoon (about 28–30g) of dough each, and roll into balls, and arrange 2–3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies for 12–13 minutes or until the edges appear set. Tip: If they aren’t really spreading by minute 10, remove them from the oven and lightly bang the baking sheet on the counter 2–3x. This helps initiate that spread. Return to the oven to continue baking.
- Cool cookies for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Make the frosting: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, heavy cream/milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 1 full minute. Taste. Beat in another pinch of salt if desired.
- Spread the frosting on the cooled cookies with a knife or an offset spatula. Top evenly with sprinkles.
- Cover and store frosted cookies at room temperature for up to 1 day, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Frosting “soft-sets” on the cookies after a few hours, meaning it will slightly dry on top.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can freeze the unbaked cookie dough balls for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding a minute or two to the baking time. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough. Baked plain or frosted cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack | Small Icing Spatula
- Natural Cocoa Powder: Do you know the difference between natural cocoa powder and dutch-process cocoa powder? Use natural cocoa powder in the cookie dough. Because there is no leavening in the buttercream, you can use either natural or dutch cocoa in the frosting.
- Milk In The Frosting: You can use either whole milk or heavy cream in the frosting (or even nondairy milk or half-and-half), but regardless of what you choose, warm it up for a few seconds in the microwave or on the stove. Adding slightly warm liquid to this chocolate frosting helps the cocoa powder absorb more liquid and creates a smoother, more satiny finish.
- Larger Batch: The recipe is easy to double in 1 mixing bowl without overwhelming your mixer. Simply double all of the cookie dough ingredients. Dough chill time remains the same. For the frosting, doubling it would be too much, so I recommend using the scaled up chocolate buttercream recipe (tastes just the same!).
- Can I Make a Vanilla Version? Yes. Try my sprinkle cookies supreme, or my soft cakey sugar cookies.
- Can I Make These with Vanilla Frosting? Yes. For a generous amount of frosting, use my vanilla buttercream recipe. For a slightly scaled down version that will be enough for the batch of chocolate cookies, use the same vanilla bean buttercream from my shamrock cookies.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
